The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1887-10-18
A SHOWER OF METEORS.
The Scene Witnessed Annually in October.

The path OF the earth on the lSth
and Doth of the present month does
not lie through a solitary waste OF
space, where its unimaginable speed
is the only existing motion for hun
dreds of thousands of miles, an iso-
lated exception to the surrounding
quiet. Annually on certain days it
enters disputed region where myri-
ads Of Opaque bodies of small size,
circling round the sun In an unbrok-
en- stream, are already In possession
for a distance of several millions OF
miles. Through the midst of these
our planet speeds with unabated We
locity, thinning their ranks as they
beat with self-destructive force
against the atmosphere, but never
perceptibly swerving from its des-
tined course. This annual skirmish
has probably been occurring for thou
sands OF centuries, though recorded
observation dates back only about o
thousand years.
Tonight and Thursday night the
earth encounters the ring OF Orionids,
which rank next to those of Novem-
Der 18th and 18th, in size and brill
fancy.
Besides these circling streams it
also encounters them singly, and in
isolated groups, so that il is now con-
sidered that the interplanetary spaces
are, comparatively speaking, crowded
with these bodies, which are named
meteors, and differ from the planets
principally in size. Though any ap-
proximation to the number really in
existence could not be attempted, it
is at least known that the earth does
not travel many hundreds OF miles in
undisturbed solitude.
As these objects, though undoubt-
edly shining by borrowed light, like
the moon and planets, are too small
to be distinguished, and too far apart,
even In groups, to shed a combined
light, it may excite surprise that we
are aware of their existence. To un-
derstand this matter fully it must be
remembered that the earth's atmos-
phere, which envelopes it to height
of at least hundred miles, or about
one-eightieth of its diameter, is mat
ter, though In very rarefied condi-
ton. When impelled by the laws of
gravity these celestial travellers wing
their. curving flight to some point of
space already occupied by the earth,
they necessarily collide, first with the
atmosphere, which they generally
penetrate at the rate of about thirty
miles in a second. But the earth being
| also moving, the friction is OF a two
fold nature; and the opaque intruder
generally ignites and is consumed be-
fore halfway through the atmospere.
Then star-gaZers or casual observ-
ers see the destruction aloft in the
form of a falling or shooting star,
which In Sc eming size and distance.
resembles those remote suns that are
billions of miles beyond the pathway
of our planet.
The trail of light that sometimes
fingers in the path of the vanished
meteor is the debris of its extin-
guished existence. AS different races
of men contend for territory, so, also.
insnimate nature is in conflict in the
realms of space, and the shooting
stars are the record of the warfare
written in fire. But the earth's at
mospheric armor is not always invin-
chile, and the invading hosts some
times offset their own extensive anni-
hilation by small retaliative triumphs.
II the meteor is of unusual size, it
passes through the atmosphere and
reaches the ground before it is COM
pletely fused. These prisoners of
war are generally, when captured, in
carcerated in museums under the
name of @rolites. One of the largest
is now in the Academy of Sciences of
Copenhagen, and weighs $4,000
pounds.
In their swift descent they some
times avenge their downfall. A Fran
ciscan monk was killed by small
arolite near Milan, in the middle of
the seventeenth century. No doubt
many conflicting views were afioat at
the time, as to whether it was a priv
ilege or a punishment to be felled by
a heavenly missile.
There are also accounts of herds
man in Bordeaux and q fishing boat
in the Orkney islands being the vic
tins of meteoric force. But though
the celestial exiles do not always bear
destruction with them, their frequent
fall is now a well-attested fact. The
latest reported being that at Spokane
Falls about two months ago.
A German writer estimates the fall
OF aerolites at about twelve daily, but
few are discovered, as they either de-
scend unnoticed, or in uninhabited
lands, and the largest number prob
ably into the ocean. If we had a
record Of all the deaths inflicted by
the descent OF meteors, the number
would probably be too few to cause
any apprehension;still, like the sword
OF Damocles, the possibility is forever
overhead. The sudden, swift, silent
movement of the falling stars is al
ways startling and impressive. They
seem, specifically, an incongruity in
the clear still heavens, but are in real
ity glimpse of distant space, from
which we are otherwise hopelessly ex-
cluded. Examination proves that the
aerolite, or falling star, that outlives
collision with the atmosphere is not
composed OF any weird or mysterious
substances as one might expect on ac-
count OF its cosmical origin. On the
contrary, its constituents, though diff |
ferently combined, are entirely slmi- |
lar to earthly material. Iron is the
predoninating substance, being some
times ninety hundreths of the mass. |
IL - i n